In communication systems, signals are often transmitted from a communication device to a remote communication device via a wireless or free space medium. These communication devices typically employ a transmitter for transmitting the signal long distances via the wireless medium. In many cases, the transmitter is operated continuously whether or not signals are being transmitted. In some cases, operating a transmitter in a continuous manner may be acceptable. However, when the power source is limited, this may not be desirable since the transmitter may not be able to be operated continuously for a long time.
For instance, many communication devices are portable devices, such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices, and other portable communication devices. These portable communication devices typically rely on a limited power source, such as a battery, to perform the various intended operations. A limited power source typically has a continuous use lifetime that depends on the amount of power used by the portable device. It is generally desirable to extend the continuous use lifetime as much as possible. Accordingly, portable communication devices are more frequently designed to consume less and less power.
One technique for operating a transmitter in a more power efficient manner is to use pulse-based modulation techniques (e.g., pulse-position modulation) to transmit signals. In such a system, a transmitter may be operated in a relatively high power consumption mode during the transmission of a pulse signal. However, when the transmitter is not being used to transmit the pulse signal, it is operated in a relatively low power consumption mode in order to conserve power. Accordingly, such transmitter should be able to seamlessly transition from the low power consumption mode to the high power consumption mode in a manner that the generated pulse meets defined specifications for proper communication with the remote communication device.